Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for a US Senate seat in Maine, has been hit with a second allegation of sexual misconduct roughly 24 hours after being accused of rape. According to a report by The Washington Post, his former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield alleged that he covertly removed condoms during sex despite her explicit instruction that he wear them. The fresh claim intensifies pressure on an already troubled campaign, with several Democrats withdrawing endorsements and questions being raised over whether he can be replaced on the ballot before a 13 July deadline.

Fifield, 41, had previously accused Platner of physical mistreatment during their relationship, including grabbing her hard enough to leave marks and, on one occasion, twisting her arm and confining her to a bedroom. Those earlier claims were dismissed by some of his supporters, who noted her former employment at the conservative Heritage Foundation and cast her as a political operative. Platner, who won the Democratic nomination in June and had been due to face Republican Senator Susan Collins, has also faced criticism over a past Nazi tattoo and other controversies. His campaign reportedly told The Post that Fifield's latest allegations were "categor[ically]" denied, though the statement is cut off in the article.